Image Wars: Kings and Commonwealths in England, 1603-1660

Kevin Sharpe

Abstract

This book explores image, power, and communication in early modern England and examines their importance during the turbulent seventeenth century. Tudor authority was constructed and enhanced by the representation of rule in words, portraits, and artefacts, and in rituals and performances. Although the new dynasty that succeeded faced many problems, not the least of which was the very success of Elizabeth in personalizing her authority, the opening of England, after peace with Spain, to greater continental influences presented a myriad of opportunities. Travel to Catholic countries introduced ... More

This book explores image, power, and communication in early modern England and examines their importance during the turbulent seventeenth century. Tudor authority was constructed and enhanced by the representation of rule in words, portraits, and artefacts, and in rituals and performances. Although the new dynasty that succeeded faced many problems, not the least of which was the very success of Elizabeth in personalizing her authority, the opening of England, after peace with Spain, to greater continental influences presented a myriad of opportunities. Travel to Catholic countries introduced Englishmen, the English court, and the monarchy to the great continental artists, such as Titian, who had brilliantly fashioned the images of the greatest dynasties of early modern Europe. In the seventeenth century, the baroque arts in portraiture and the classicism long fashionable on the continent, and with them the stage sets, architecture, and ceremonies of the European royal courts, at last came to England and in canvas and stone, in stage designs and mises-en-scène, transformed the representation of English kingship. This study examines the attempts by a series of regimes in seventeenth-century England to represent themselves in the most favorable light: to win support for particular courses, and to secure and enhance their authority. It studies the image of rule in words, visuals, and performances, and briefly looks at other and counter-representations as a means of evaluating the measure of success rulers had in projecting their authority.

End Matter

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